In the printing industry it is common to use large reels or rolls of paper which comprise a continuous length of paper wrapped around a central core. These reels are mounted onto printing machinery by lifting the reel and locating the core onto a receiving rod.
The weight of these paper reels is often considerable and it can be extremely difficult for even several persons to manually lift them into place. In order to ease this task, specialized lifting apparatus have been designed for lifting large paper reels. Such lifting apparatus generally comprises a four-wheeled trolley on which is mounted hydraulic, electrical or mechanical lifting machinery. Typically, a mandrel projects from the lifting machinery and is arranged to be located within the core of the reel to be lifted. The mandrel is then raised vertically to position the reel at an appropriate height for receipt by the receiving rod of the printing apparatus. Generally, the mandrel extends only part-way through the core in order to leave enough room at the opposite end of the core so that the core can be transferred onto the receiving rod of the printing machinery.
Reel lifting apparatus comprising hydraulic and electrical lifting machinery tends to be relatively expensive. On the other hand, whilst mechanical, hand operated lifting machinery is cheaper, it still tends to be complex and can be difficult for persons of small stature to operate. Both types of machinery require a large amount of space in which to operate.